Hay conditioner

Abstract

A h ay conditioner comprised of a hay pick-up, a covered conveyor, a discharge chute and a steam generator in communication with a plurality of steam input nozzles, wherein the conditioned hay is continuously discharged from the chute as the vehicle progresses so as to traverse a windrow.

I claim: 
     
       1. A hay conditioner comprising, in combination, a wheeled chassis having angled towing means so that it is towable by a vehicle en echelon, said wheeled chassis supporting: a hay pick-up reel on the forward portion thereof;   a covered conveyor extending toward the rear of said chassis;   a secondary conveyor downstream from said covered conveyor;   an offset, downwardly-angled guide chute; and   a steam generator and associated conduits in communication with a plurality of steam inlet jets disposed in a V-shaped manifold with the apex thereof pointing downstream and positioned adjacent the input region of said covered conveyor, said manifold being mounted upon the underside of the deck of said covered conveyor, which is provided with corresponding apertures therein;   said hay pick-up reel being positioned near ground level in communication with said input region of said covered conveyor, the output region of which communicates with the input region of said secondary conveyor, the output region of which communicates, in turn, with said offset, downwardly-angled guide chute;   said secondary conveyor, which is short as compared with the length of said covered conveyor, being pivotally attached at the discharge end of the said covered conveyor for movement in a horizontal plane; and   said offset, downwardly-angled guide chute extending from the trailing end of said secondary conveyor.